At the end of the 1990’s the
idea of having online friends wasn’t
something that one would exactly want to broadcast, as the perception
of anyone that participated in online socializing was that of a
basement-dwelling nerd. As the years have passed, that stigma has been
mostly eradicated and everyone from preteens to grandparents has
embraced this medium of communication,but some doubters remain. Can the
people behind online avatars become real friends, or are these
relationships as fleeting and ephemeral as the network connections that
facilitate them? Join Medawky this week as he takes a look at this
rapidly growing social circle.

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style="border: 1px inset ;"> Early
games were largely comprised of group content and having a reliable
pool of players to draw from was a luxury early on. When you found a
solid group it wasn’t uncommon to spend upwards of six to
eight hours
grinding out experience. The pace of combat was slower and lent itself
to extended chat sessions. Once solitary gamers were soon becoming
members of an ever-increasing social circle. This component to the
games would be a key part in transitioning them from niche to
mainstream entertainment.